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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Just got back from a fabulous Blogger Break
spent with gods, demigods, giants, dragons, dwarves, flying horses, magic
swords and water nymphs.Who knew you
could find all that in Seattle, Washington?﻿

Entrance to McCaw Hall

Yes, dear Readers, you can fnd all that and more at the Seattle Opera's McCaw Hall. And during 16 hours of thrilling music over four nights, you can take an incredible journey with these mythical creatures in Richard Wagner's masterpiece Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). Prepare yourself for lust, anger, love and hate, adultery and incest, murder, death and destruction, and a wronged woman's final revenge. You'll neve have so much fun!!

The “Ring Cycle,” a series of four operas, is a monumental
undertaking for any opera company.Few
ever attempt it.It takes years to
produce something this massive from conception, staging and costumes to opening
night.And then, there are the
singers………….at any given time in history, there are only a handful of singers
in the entire world capable of producing a sound big enough to fill an opera
house, cut through a 110-piece orchestra blasting away, and do it for five to
six hours at a clip without electronic amplification.These are not Broadway Babies.The vocal and physical stamina required to do
all this is staggering.

The magnificent Swedish soprano, Birgit Nilsson (1918–2005),was the reigning Brünnhilde
for decades.No one I have heard since
can come close to producing her glorious sound.She could caress you with a tender tone one minute and knock you back in
your seat with the power of a mighty Valkyrie in full battle cry the next.

She was also known for her delightful sense of humor.When asked once what advice she would give to
young singers preparing for these long Wagner roles, she replied, “Wear
comfortable shoes.”

Among opera goers, the Wagner groupies who are willing to
fly anywhere in the world to attend a “Ring Cycle” are affectionately known as
Ring Nuts.They are the Trekkies of the
opera world.You’ll see them wandering
around the auditoriums wearing their own horned helmets, which they politely
remove during the performance.While I
do not have my own helmet, I do number my husband and myself among the hard
core Ring Nuts.We’ll go anywhere for a
“Ring,” and by my count, this makes 15.

The first opera of the “Ring Cycle” (Das Rheingold) starts off in the Rhine River (yes, that’s right………IN
it), where we find the three beautiful Rhine Maidens frolicking about in the
water as they guard their father’s Gold.An ugly dwarf named Alberich, who is smitten by their charms, tries to
catch one of the water nymphs, but Rhine Maidens are very slippery when
wet.So, the furious Alberich renounces
love and steals the Sisters’ gold, which sets everything in motion.At the end of the fourth opera, 16 hours
later, we find ourselves right back where we started……….IN the Rhine River with
the frolicking Rhine Maidens whose gold has been restored to them.I kid you not!But what a journey it’s been!In this production of Das
Rheingold each Rhine Maiden is suspended on two cables attached to a harness
on either side of her hips, while two unseen technicians high above her work to
create the effect of swimming.Not only
are these water nymphs required to sing incredibly difficult music (it is,
after all, Wagner, my Dears), but they are in perpetual motion, executing
mid-air somersaults and constantly flipping their flippers back and forth in
unison with undulating arms.The three
singers who perform the roles went through months of physical training to
accomplish these mid-air acrobatics, and the effect is truly spectacular.

Here the Rhine Maidens come up for air to plead with the
hero Siegfried to return their gold, now in the form of a golden ring.

Having slain a dragon to obtain it, he refuses to return
it.Unfortunately for our intrepid hero,
the ring has been cursed and he pays the ultimate price in the final opera.Here’s a little sample of how it looks.

Now, I should warn you that, other than the svelte Rhine
Maidens, you will see some rather hefty singers in this clip.We Ring Nuts expect a bit of bulk on our
Wagnerian singers.By and large, Wagnerian
voices do not come in Kate Moss bodies.Frankly,
Wagnerites don’t care what you look like, so long as you deliver the vocal and
dramatic goods.On that, we insist.

So, that said, have a little look and a listen….

Of course, it wasn’t all fun and games in the
Rhine last week.

We also had the great joy of spending an afternoon with my
dear friend, Véronique (“French Girl in Seattle”).Here we are having lunch at Véronique’sfavorite restaurant in Pike Street Market,
Café Campagne.Notice the two Kirs in
front of my husband and me, both of which I drank.Hmmm!

And here we are (Véronique and I) outside the Café looking very
happy and rosy indeed following a wonderful lunch and two Kirs each.I highly recommend having the Duck Confit
salad in the company of a gorgeous gasconne in a marinière who knows how to add that all important dash of je ne sais quoi and joie de vivre to any meal!!Big
bisous, ma chère amie.

For Véronique’s take on our delightful afternoon and the joy
of friends and friendship, click here.

And, if I’ve managed to whet your appetite even just a little
for the “Ring Cycle,” you’ll love Anna Russell’s (1911–2006) hilarious take on
it.The late, dearly missed Anna
Russell, was a singer, musician and comedienne par excellence, whose parodies of Wagner and Gilbert & Sullivan
became legendary.

Here she explains the first opera of the “Ring Cycle.”(Note:The picture quality is fuzzy and grainy, but Russell’s facial
expressions come through with Wagnerian clarity.)

So, dear Readers, have I convinced you to take the plunge? Come on in.........the water is fine.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

A while back I mentioned that I had two weddings to attend
during the month of June, June being the high-water month for weddings.The first was on the beach in Cape May, New
Jersey, about an hour from my home.The
second was on the veranda of a private home in the Main Line near Philadelphia,
also not far from my home.

The Main Line is an area I know well.I grew up in a neighboring town and spent
four wonderful years as a student at Rosemont College, a private Catholic
university for young ladies nestled in the heart of the Main Line. Rosemont is now co-ed, and I confess I still
have mixed feelings about that, but times change and so must educational
institutions, if they wish to survive.

You fans of the soap opera All My Children might find this tidbit of interest.The long-running and still hugely popular
soap opera, created by Agnes Nixon, debuted in 1970, the same year I began my
studies as a lowly freshman at Rosemont College.And…………..the town of Rosemont is, in fact,
the model for the fictional town of Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, where the TV series
takes place.

You won’t find the Main Line listed as such on any map.It’s more of a socio-cultural designation
than a geographical one.The affluent communities
that grew up along the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad (hence the name)
were originally a collection of country estates built by wealthy 19th
Century Philadelphians, such as the Drexels and the Biddles, who maintained
large homes in the City, but wanted even larger and more magnificent country
estates as retreats from the growing congestion and summer heat of
Philadelphia.

﻿

Entrance to the Ardrossan Estate

Perhaps the most famous estate in the Main Line is the one
that inspired first a successful Broadway play, then a wildly successful
Hollywood film of the same name, while revitalizing the moribund career of an
actress who had become known in the industry as “box office poison.”

The film was the 1940 MGM mega-hit, The Philadelphia Story, starring Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and the
formerly “poisonous” Katharine Hepburn.

﻿

Salon in the Ardrossan Estate

The Ardrossan Estate in the city of Villanova (right next to
the town of Rosemont), built from 1911-13, was used as both backdrop and
inspiration for the Lord Estate in the film.This 50-room Georgian revival mansion was named after the family’s
ancestral Scottish home and was originally comprised of 800 acres in the heart
of the Main Line.

﻿

Helen Hope Montgomery Scott at the annual Devon Horse Show in Devon, PA

And the Main Line’s most dazzling socialite, Helen Hope
Montgomery Scott, whose father had built the Ardrossan Estate, was the
inspiration for Hepburn’s unforgettable character, Tracy Lord.

Here is a clip from one of the funniest scenes in the film.Jimmy Stewart’s character arrives drunk at
the home of Cary Grant’s character (Hepburn’s ex-husband) following an
all-night party the night before the wedding in which Hepburn is supposed to
marry a fellow by the name of Kittredge the following morning.

A great deal of the witty and clever dialogue was ad-libbed by
two actors who are clearly having the time of their lives filming this scene,
and the viewer is only too happy to go along for the ride.

If you have never seen this film, do not pass "GO," do not collect $100, just get thee to a Netflix RIGHT NOW, get your hands on a DVD of The Philadelphia Story and prepare to have the time of your life with three of Hollywood’s
most beloved icons, along with a brilliant cast of supporting characters.You are invited to the Main Line’s most
exclusive social event of the season…………the wedding of Tracy Samantha Lord to……hmmm,
let’s see now, which of the three men will she end up marrying?I guess you’ll just have to show up at the
wedding and find out.